Electrostatic seismometer



June 10, 1952 G. PETERSON 2,599,775

ELECTROSTATIC SEISMOMETER Filed July 1, 1948 2- SHEETS-SHEET 2 1 11. Tijii.

JNVENTOR. GLEN PETERSON T a- BY M w Patented June 10, 1952 UNITED ELECTROSTATIC SEISMOMETER Glen Peterson, Tulsa, Okla., assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in seismometers and particularly to those of the electrostatic type.

An object of this invention is to provide a seismometer suitable to the direct modulation of a radio frequency carrier wave to provide a radio link between the point of incident seismic energy and the recorder, thereby replacing the cable link and magnetic seismometer therebetween as presently used, and thereby eliminating the well known disadvantages of a cable connection.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seismometer which by comparison with the more usual forms of this apparatus is small in size and light in weight.

A further object is to provide a seismometer of simple mechanical design and thereby adapted to economical manufacture.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a seismometer of improved sensitivity to seismic waves, which characteristic is obtained in part by the use of a specially designed electrostatic pick-up device.

An important object of this invention is to provide electrostatic seismometer structures in which for small displacements the ratio of variable capacitance to the total capacitance of the seismometer is high.

A further object of the invention is to provide a high impedance seismometer having a time constant suitable to accepted seismic exploration methods.

By using a radio link between the seismometer and the seismograph recorder in place of the usual cable connection there is permitted a reevaluation of the principles employed in the design and construction of the seismometer. With systems operated as at present employing long cables to carry the energy from the seismometer to the recording apparatus, a low impedance seismometer capable of feeding energy directly into the cable is generally desirable. With the system herein disclosed, omitting the cable link and employing a radio transmitter modulated by the seismometer, a high impedance seismometer becomes possible and desirable. This is particularly true and advantageously so with such forms of modulation as phase, frequency and various known types of pulse modulation which may be used.

A high impedance seismometer employing electrostatic elements has many advantages as will hereinafter appear, including that of great sensitivity. In seismic operations earth displacements used for exploratory purposes are frequently of a magnitude as small as 10- inches, and'a seismometer having the inherent sensitivity to usefully employ such minute vibrations may when properly designed in accordance with the disclosure herein, be of the electrostatic or capacity type. Electrostatic 'seismometers of the type herein disclosed when associated with suitable electronic apparatus permit the useful absorption of earth motions of magnitudes as small as 10- inches. Motions of such minute magnitude are availed of in accordance with this invention by making the non-variable capacitance of the seismometer as low as possible and its variable capacitance as high as possible whereby maximum sensitivity is obtained.

Other and more detailed objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the embodiments described herein and illustrated in the attached drawings.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a top plan View of an electrostatic seismometer'in accordance with the invention herein disclosed;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional'view taken'on" the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a modified form of electrostatic seismometer with some parts broken away;

Figure 4 is a vertical, central, cross-sectional view of the structure of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a cross-sctional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 6 of still another form of electrostatic seismometer in accordance with this invention; 7

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of this modification;

Figures 7 and 8 are elevational views of modifled forms of movable dielectric members for the structures of Figures 5 and 6; s

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 10 of a modified form of electrostatic seismometer in accordance with this invention showing it'immersed in a fluid;

Figure 10 is a top plan view of the seismometer of the combination of Figure 9 with the fluid housing removed and a part broken away;

Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line ll-H of Figure 9;

Figure 12 is a detailed plan view of one of the supporting springs for the movable dielectric member of this form of seismometer;

Figure 13 is a front elevational view of the movable dielectric member of this seismometer;

Figure 14 is an end elevational view of a still further modified form of electrostatic seismomeand physical properties. "Th"=-discs 6 and 5 are respectively coated on their upper surfaces with the silver layers 6 and 1 respectively, lwhichlayers may be applied by any known method, but preferably by electrode deposition. interposed between the compositeidiscs 4-6 and 5-'[ are diheshimsorvwashers aiwhich predetermine the mormal'rstaticispacing between the :discs. While gaaiihtg' silver .coatingswii and.' Ir have been shown on '"thempper faces of-.-:the:discs Land 5, itvwill be epbe on: the. flower-"face of; disc 4. The disadvanimage of this, however, is thatunder'more intense cvibration than would: normally: be expected the 22" woacoatingsnfirand:il;might short circuit and inerfere lwithcthe'properoperation of the recordingmpparatus; f ,The two: silvercoatings 6' and 1 w mend-radially asapart of -the tabs 10 to make iprovisionzfors electrical circuit connection 7 thereto;i"r; As illustrated; the upper composite P disc 4-3 has a-central opening to-fiprovidefonthe.move- @mentztherein:ofiheshead oi-ra rivet or other at- :taching:2means. tonwhich. zit-weight t9: of suitable rpmpontions. is: SIIBIIBIIKGdffIOmT EhE lower "disc 5-1: As: eleetronieacizigineersv will appreciate, the coatings 6 and f'lirmust' be ainsulated from each c intherxand therefore'inxaddition to :using insulat- 'T-TiIIgJEhimS theirivets; Sumusta be: insulated from the coatings as by providing them: Witlran in- :zcsulating sleeve 3'.

By means of this construction there iis provided dlheiadvantage thatthesmetalliclfilms -6 and I .-ma-y aberrbronght veryrclosertogether; increasing the sensitivity of the device but preventing short tl clmui-trthereof by icontactofonecoating-with the other. By meansiofzithis construction it. is posaisible to separate thei'two-discs by, af'distance as 'rsma'l asa-OLOOlvinch-Y that is'-the"thickness of :the :fshim, 8: rBy-a-making the insulating disc: ofzvery thin material it is possible to provide a-totalseparationw between: the condenser plates Band 1, of as little as 0.0033 inch, so that a displacement of l -10: inches/will produce, a variation in capacity of about; 3; parts inawmillion. This variation is suflicient to efiectiphase onfrequency modulation of afhighinequency oscillator.

t can; be shownxthat :the instantaneous volt- ,lfi e; developedby-a capacitative-seismometersuch as that oi ifi lgu res' 1-. andaisiven yth rela i n l;=the,,;initialr separationoftthesplates of the seis-' mometer ininchesand siiszthezmter.otchange: oflztheji plate sepa'ration :understooduthat in-=some.:cases the coating may /70 the fixed pates l2.

4 measured in inches per second. Thus if these values are E=300 volts, R=l0 ohms, 00:10!) mmf., 250:0.003 inch,

inches per second then E=10- volts which is the limiting value of the voltage developed for 1 :the given. structure. Thisvcompareswer-y favor- 10 ably with about 10- -velts for'= lowimpedance magnetic types of seismometers as now common- 1y used.

'A somevvhat more instructive relation than the equation given above can be drawn if one 1 5. i'cnnsidersiiith-els electrostatic seismometer to be =.'composedot two-acapacitors C and .AC connected in parallel through a switch, and. this combina= tion connected in series with a battery E and a resistor R, where AC is that portion of the total capacitance that is variable with ground motion. Under these circumstances,- it can be shown that V the': transientpulses of voltage developed by the seismometer have an amplitude:

In both relations '(l') and (2) it" is seen-that a seismometer structure having a.-low--minimu-m capacitance (non-variableportion) is-=desirable. This is accomplished by means of the structure of Figure: 1-- and-=those to be-hereinaften described.

In the structure oil ig-ure l,--these--desired con- -ditions are attainedby reducing-the separation 40 of-the condenser-plates fi andltoa minimum so that of Equation (1) could Ideas 'Iarge as' po"ssiblein comparison with X0.

In the rorm ior electrostatic or eap'aeitiveseismometer shown in Figures 3-=and 4 the ria-ble p'ortion' 'or AC -is further increa'sed' in comparison with- 'tlie' -fi'xed portion C"' 'A's' illustratedj the device consists of a set 'of fiiied' -parallel circular plates l2 separated by spacing rings Ii wliich'are of conducting materiau which-set includes the "*termina'l piates and ls sp'a'cearrcmthe adjacen't fixed pla'tes lzty means er-spacer nngs H which are of insiilating-"niaterial; All of these plates' andrings are secu rd tog'etherby aseries of rivets or bolts -l'3 wl-iich are conductiveiy in contact witli tliesplates' l2 butare' insulated from the plates 'l l 'and I&'- by riiea-ns 'oflinisliing I3 which maybe integral with the insulatingfiings 'I i or maybef 'separate insulating bushings. "The heads of the f vets 1 3- are ins ulated "from the plates l l andfll fi bymeans of' in sulating wa'shers i I 3f as sho' wn'.- Tiie ii-ized plates "I 2" are provided with 'a'xially aligned coiicentric opening-s in'which a set of movable plates l-l are mounted 'so fthat their. peripherai e'dges -are' slightl'y?'spaced radially from" the a'n'nulai' wa1s'uefi1iing uie opeiiings in The-platesf I I ar- 's'eparat'ed -by conducting spacers l6 which =are='secured to- .gether and-toithe end plates Mandi I 5 by' rneans of a' riveting 'otifastenin'gf device" I8 which also serves to attach to the! resulting movable system a properly proportioned"weighting."member I 9.

The terminal spacers l6 are indicated as being of insulating material but they too can be of conducting material as the plates l4 and I5 are insulated as previously described from the fixed plates 12. The plate M is provided with a terminal connecting tab 26 and one of the plates I2 is provided with a similar tab 20' so that the plate groups l2 and I! are electrically connected in groups of which the plate group I7 is relatively movable with respect to the plate group I 2 under the control of the spring action produced by the end plates M and [5. It will be understood that the movable plates I! are electrically connected to the fastening device !8 and to the spring mounting plates l4 and !5. In normal relaxed position the movable plates l1 lie in the planes of the fixed plates l2, as shown in Figure Thus the plates of the movable set are placed edge to edge with the plates of the fixed set so as to get the greatest change in capacity for given relative movements between the two sets of plates. This, of course, is in comparison with the normal fixed capacity C of the combination. As a result in Equation (2) is made as large as possible. To further increase this factor of the equation the plates l2 and H are made very thin.

In the case of both structures the weights 9 and [9 are so selected as the particular characteristics of each assembly requires, so that the moving portion thereof is given the desired period of motion with respect to the other.

The construction of Figures 5 to 8 inclusive has the general electrical characteristics explained above as desirable for a capacitive seismometer but structural differences from the modifications previously described. In this case there is provided a pair of fixed conductive members 2! and 22 which for the sake of simplificaw tion are shown in cross-section as E-shaped. Attached to the opposite ends thereof are the pairs of insulating strips or blocks 23 and 24 and the spring supporting members 26 and 21. The conductor members 2| and 22, the spacers 23 and 24, and the spring supporting members 26 and 27 are secured together in stacked and spaced relation as clearly shown in Figure 6, by means of rivets or bolts 25. Included in each stack are the terminal tabs 29. The spring members 21 which may be constructed like that illustrated in Figure 12, or may be simply continuous thin strips of spring metal serve to support between them a movable member consistingof a plate of dielectric material composed of alternate sections 28 and 28' of difierent dielectric properties. Preferably the sections 28 should have a higher dielectric constant than the sections 28. It will be appreciated that when this structure is subjected to vibrations the member will oscillate in a vertical plane to vary the dielectric characteristics of the gap between the arms of the conducting E members 2! and 22 and thereby change the capacity of the condenser that is thus formed by the conductor members 2! and 22. The member 28 is a rectangular plate built up of alternate laminations of strips 28 and 28' as will be understood from this description.

The movable member may, however, take the forms illustrated in Figures '7 and 8. The structure of Figure 7 consists of a member 28 of the configuration shown and composed of a dielectric material of uniform dielectric constant previous movable members are combined.

6 throughout its structure. It will be supported between the springs 26 and 21 in the same manner as in the member 28, with the result that the cross arms will take the positions in the view of Figure 6, that the bars28 have. In this case, therefore, with the exception of the vertical bar of the member 28 which connects the horizontal bars, the gaps between the arms of the conducting members 2! and 22 will be composed partially by air and partially by the dielectric material of the horizontal arms. Thus in effect the member 28 will have the characteristics of the member 28 of creating a condition of relatively high and low dielectric capacity so that vertical vibration thereof will cause a similar change in the variable component of the capacity of the condenser structure. To put it more concisely, with the structure of Figure 7 air has been substituted as the dielectric material for that of the bars 28 except at the center of the member 28 at which the vertically connected bar lies. In the structure of Figure 8 the features of the two In the structure of Figure 8 the horizontal bars 28 are made of material of a higher dielectric constant than the material of the vertical bar 28*, thus in part at least the characteristics of both of the previous structures are provided by the structure of Figure 8.

It will be understood, as is clear from the other forms of the device disclosed, that the number of projections on the stator members 2| and 22 and the cooperating arms on the member 28 may be increased with due regard to the requirement in accordance with this invention that the variable factor of the total capacitance of the device shall be large with respect to the fixed capacitance thereof.

A still further form of structure is illustrated in Figures 9 to 13 inclusive. In this case, as be fore, a pair of fixed E-shaped conducting members 2i and 22 are placed in opposed relation and assembled in that relation by means of the insulating spacers 32 which are of .U-shaped form, as shown in the various figures, and provided with seats for the conducting members 2| and 22. These parts are secured together to hold the members 2| and 22 in parallel spaced relation and to secure the springs 33 thereto. The springs 33 are provided with struck-out fingers 34 which are secured to the opposite ends of the member 28 This member, as clearly shown in Figure 13, consists of a slight rectangular plate of insulating material having a low dielectric constant and provided with a series of rectangular windows or openings 28 aligned with respect to the arms of the conducting members 2| and 22 so that the material of the member partly overlaps the aligned areas of these arms and the remaining areas are separated by the air spaces provided by the windows 28 The terminal tabs 29 are respectively connected to a pair of lead-in wires 29' which are mounted in a suitable housing 30 containing a fluid 3! of high dielectric constant, many of which are well known and suitable for the purpose. In the form illustrated the housing 30 being of insulating material, the lead-in wires 29' can be directly mounted therein. If the housing is of conducting material then suitable insulators for the lead-in wires 29' will be provided.

With this arrangement the spring fingers 34 provide greater vertical flexibility than would be provided by the arrangement of Figure 6, where the spring members 26 and 21 are continuous strips of spring metal.

r-arecws 7 "It= wil1-. beiapparent that-the moving -portions of -the istructure of' Figures Band BUcanbe provided with weights asbefore. tofladjust the period of -vibr-ation-thereofi Itwill: also'be understood that :the structure of: Figure 9 will: be provided with i -both.ends andtin parallel-spaced relation,v as

...shown. 'Ihe-spacing. at therlower ends is further .maintained by. means. of 'yokes 4| at eachrside of Lthe gridsiiiThe supporting Wires or rodsf39, 48,

AH and 43=alsoprovide suitable circuit connection leads-.for' th'e device which pass torthe exterior'of thehousingldirectly therethrough'if it is of insu- 'lating material. or. at the insulating and Welling bushings-(notshownl. if it is of conductive material.

J-Suspended between the .grids fiend 38 is the movablegrid 44 corresponding to the moving elementof-the other devices and suspended by four csprings 45-and 4.6- (seeFig. 15) Attached to the amovablewgrid. atthe bottom is asuitable weight 41- to impart the properperiodicitynto the "grid. Eachv of. the grids 31, 38hand 44 is constructed likeithat-il'lust-r-ated intE-igure-15 andzeach comprises a pair of side bars like the barsLAMHcQnenactedby a series ofiparallel cross bars i lb; The

element; is insulated. from the housing '35 if itiiswoimetal. This type of structurehas thevir- :tua oflightness and. the grids can be relatively arranged so that. the non-variable portion of the capacity iskept relatively low.

The .grid structure. illustrated in Figures 14. and

5: 8 I 15; is particularly adapted to accomplish-tha ed Ject: oLthis invention because the. movable grid wean her-made very-light soas tobe very sensitive to'small earth movements-and theratio iofvari- 5 able capacitance to fixed capacitance can readily -bemade=large.

Fromthe above description itwill be. apparent to'those'. skilled inthe art that the subject matter w of: this invention'is capable of considerablevariam tion, and l donotrtherefore, desire to be=strictly "limited to the disclbsurewhich has been given for illustrative purposes, but rather by -the-c1aims granted me.

-What is claimed is: 15 1; A capacitive seismometer comprising-a set' of .fixed spaced conductors inrthe form of flat rings, a second set of spaced conductors invthe iorm oi discs, means for resiliently supportingsaidsecflond'sethof conductors with their outer edgesin '20 alignment Withtheinner Ledges ot-s'aidi-first set and means ior electrically connecting saidsets ot-conductorsinto two separate groups, whereby thematic of variable capacitance to fixedeapacitance of the seismometer is large.

2. In the combination of claim 1, a weight secured to said second set of conductors to impart the desired periodicitithereto in relation to the resilient mounting therefor.

GLEN PETERSON.

REFERENCES mm "The following references areiof record in-ithe file of 1 this patent:

35 UNITED STATES PATENTS 

